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1982
This is a list of various things that took place in 1982. Significant events Unknown date :*Georgia Championship Wrestling's TBS program is renamed World Championship Wrestling :*Dave Meltzer begins publication of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter :*The WWF debuts its new "W-F" logo (a pair of stacked Ws with F strokes at the upper right), which would be used by the company until 1998. April :*5 - Jerry Lawler battles comedian Andy Kaufman in a match at a sold-out Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. The match stems from Lawler taking exception to Kaufman wrestling women as part of his skits and laying claim to being the "Intergender Heavyweight Champion", with Lawler claiming that Kaufman's skits were disrespectful to his sport. Kaufman wins the match by disqualification when Lawler lays him out with two piledrivers (an illegal move in Memphis) June :*Vince McMahon and his company, Titan Sports, purchase the World Wrestling Federation and then-parent company Capitol Wrestling Corporation from his father, Vince Sr., and other shareholders :*28 - WWF Champion Bob Backlund retains his title in a cage match against Jimmy Snuka at Madison Square Garden when Snuka attempts his famed Superfly Leap off the top of the cage and misses when Backlund rolls out of the way July :*Billy Jack Haynes makes his first appearances with Stampede Wrestling as a bodyguard for veteran heel manager JR Foley while still training in promoter Stu Hart's Dungeon. Haynes would quickly break away from Foley's Army and join forces with Bruce Hart to battle the heel stable upon his in-ring debut in August https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogD09Bcmbyo :*2 - Bad News Allen debuts in Stampede Wrestling by defeating Gerry Morrow in Calgary. The heelish Allen quickly turns Stampede upside-down as he develops a reputation for brutal and violent matches, as well as inflammatory, provocative and often controversial TV interviews, which garner increased attention for the promotion :*4 - WWF Champion Bob Backlund and NWA World Champion Ric Flair battle to a no-contest in a title vs. title bout at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia :*29 - Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman appear together on Late Night with David Letterman, which draws widespread publicity when Kaufman, wearing a neck brace due to being piledriven by Lawler in their April 5 bout in Memphis, curses repeatedly at Lawler after "The King" slaps Kaufman out of his chair, then throws Letterman's coffee at Lawler, who then chases Kaufman out of the studio September :*14 - Buddy Rogers makes his first appearance in the WWF in 19 years, hosting a new interview segment called "Rogers' Corner". Early installments of the segment are used to facilitate Jimmy Snuka's face turn, using a storyline where Snuka's manager, Captain Lou Albano, was defrauding him :*24 - Frank Bonnema, the host of Pacific Northwest Wrestling's Portland Wrestling program on KPTV, suffers a heart attack several days after what would turn out to be his final broadcast of the show on September 18 October :*9 - On a broadcast of Portland Wrestling, the announcing team of guest host Don Coss and color commentator Dutch Savage announce the death of previous host Frank Bonnema on October 5 due to complications from a heart attack Bonnema had suffered less than a month earlier. Bonnema had been the host of Portland Wrestling from 1967 (shortly after its return to KPTV from its previous home on KOIN-TV Portland) until shortly before his death. With this broadcast, Coss takes over as the show's permanent host http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYMFbZm9Eac :*29 - Riki Chōshū double-crosses partners Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami during a New Japan six-man bout in Koichi, Japan. The turn ignites New Japan's biggest feud of the period as Chōshū leads his heel Seikigun stable against the babyface Ishingun group, led by Inoki and Fujinami December :*7 - During a television taping of WWF Championship Wrestling that aired on tape delay on December 18, Big John Studd (and manager Freddie Blassie) announce his "Bodyslam Challenge", promising a payoff to anyone who can successfully slam him in the ring. The first challenger, a fan named Joe, is unsuccessful in collecting $500. The "challenge" was the eventual setup of Studd's long-running feud with André the Giant, who would be the first WWF wrestler to successfully slam Studd. Despite boasting that he had never been (nor could ever be) properly slammed, André -- and later, Hulk Hogan -- would slam Studd on multiple occasions during the next four years (Bob Backlund, Tony Atlas, Roddy Piper, Blackjack Mulligan and Haku were also known to be successful in slamming Studd) :*25 - Ric Flair retains his NWA World title against Kerry Von Erich in a cage match (with Fabulous Freebird Michael Hayes as the guest referee) at WCCW's Christmas Star Wars card in Dallas, Texas. Hayes pulled Kerry on top of a dazed Flair following a mid-ring collision and made the three-count, but Kerry refuses to win the title by cheating; the aftermath of the match, which sees Hayes' fellow Freebird Terry Gordy slam the cage door on Kerry's head as Von Erich tries to leave the cage, sets off the Von Erichs-Freebirds feud which rages across Texas for nearly five years :*26 - NWA Hollywood Wrestling ceases operations Births Unknown :* - Greg Excellent (Westminster, Maryland) :* - Joanna Rose (Telford, Shropshire, England) :* - Mandrake (Newry, Northern Ireland) :* - Martin Kirby (Northallerton, England) :* - Vordell Walker (Savannah, Georgia) January :*12 - Michael Barry (Joplin, Missouri) :*13 - Mason Ryan (Tremadog, Wales, UK) February :*3 - Rebecca Bayless (Queens, New York) :*10 - Vanessa Kraven (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) March :*24 - Jake Hager (Perry, Oklahoma) April :*5 - Flex Armstrong (Boston, Massachusetts) :*7 - Sonjay Dutt (Washington DC.) :*15 - Miss Michelle (New York, New York) :*26 - Amazing Red (Brooklyn, New York) :*29 - Zivile Raudoniene (Lithuania) May :*27 - Nattie Neidhart (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) July :*13 - Chri$ Ca$h (Orlando, Florida) :*15 - Eric Tuttle (USA) August :*4 - Chris Sabin (Detroit, Michigan) :*17 - Melissa Anderson (Los Angeles, California) :*26 - Petey Williams (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) :*26 - Blixx (South Carolina) September :*12 - Sal Rinauro October :*1 - Kazma (Tokyo, Japan) :*4 - Lexi Moon (Detroit, Michigan) :*12 - Lucy Mendez (Dodge City, Kansas) :*29 - Dave Rayne (Stockport, England) November :*8 - Ted DiBiase Jr. (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) :*11 - Shaun Ricker (Hagerstown, Maryland) :*27 - Lei'D Tapa (Tonga) December :*21 - Eddie Colón (Santurce, Puerto, Rico) Deaths June :*13 - Peter Maivia 47 (Cancer) August :*28 - Bearcat Wright 50 (Sickle cell anemia) October :*5 - Frank Bonnema (Complications from heart attack) December :*15 - Chati Yokouchi Debuts Unknown date *Brickhouse Brown *Steven Dunn *Phil Lafon *Sherri Martel *Ricky Santana *Johnny Smith *Tracey Smothers *Al Snow *Steve Williams *Kazuo Yamazaki February :*The Golden Lion August :*10 - Billy Jack Haynes October :*18 - El Hijo Del Santo November :*Road Warrior Animal December :*11 - George South Events January :*3 - NWA Big Time Wrestling April :*5 - Lawler vs. Kaufman June :*4 - WCCW Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show July :*4 - NWA/WWF World Title Unification August :*15 - WCCW Wrestling Star Wars December :*25 - WCCW Christmas Star Wars Title changes Unknown date :* The NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship, last held by Dean Ho and Klondike Mike, is vacated and becomes inactive; Ramon and Ricky Torres are awarded the Vancouver version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship upon arrival in NWA All-Star Wrestling January :*1 - Dick the Bruiser wins the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship from Ken Patera in St. Louis, Missouri :*2 - Brett Sawyer wins a battle royal for the vacant NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship in Portland, Oregon :*17 - Tommy Rich wins the NWA National Heavyweight Championship from the Masked Superstar in Atlanta, Georgia; Angelo Mosca wins the Toronto version of the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship from Big John Studd in Toronto, Ontario February :*8 - Dean Ho and Sonny Myers (not the Central States Wrestling star from the 1950s and 1960s) win the NWA Vancouver International Tag Team title from Ramon Torres and Tiny Anderson :*13 - The NWA Pacific Northwest title is held up following a match between champion Brett Sawyer and Buddy Rose in Portland :*16 - Brett Sawyer defeats Buddy Rose to regain the held-up NWA Pacific Northwest title :*28 - Ole Anderson and Stan Hansen win the NWA World Tag Team Championship in a tournament in Atlanta, beating Jack and Jerry Brisco in the Eastern Division final and then being awarded the belts by forfeit when Western Division finalists Wahoo McDaniel and Don Muraco split up March :* J.J. Dillion wins the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship from Mr. Wrestling II in Orlando, Florida :*17 - Bob Roop wins the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship from Ted DiBiase in Shreveport, Louisiana :*19 - The Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship, last held by Mr. Hito, is vacated when Hito is injured :*21 - Leo Burke wins the vacant Stampede North American title in a tournament final over Duke Myers in Calgary, Alberta April :* Mr. Wrestling II regains the NWA Florida title from J.J. Dillon in St. Petersburg, Florida :*3 - The Canadian Wrecking Crew (Terry Adonis and Bruiser Costa) win the NWA Vancouver International Tag Team title from Dean Ho and Sonny Myers in Cloverdale, British Columbia :*18 - Hulk Hogan wins the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Nick Bockwinkel in St. Paul, Minnesota, despite interference from Bockwinkel's manager Bobby Heenan, who first used a foreign object on Hogan and later threw the weapon to Bockwinkel for use against Hogan :*24 - The AWA World title is returned to Nick Bockwinkel when AWA president Stanley Blackburn overturns the result of the April 18 title change, ruling that Hulk Hogan had used a foreign object on Bockwinkel (despite obvious evidence that Bobby Heenan had used the weapon on Hogan first); Harley Race wins the WWA World Heavyweight Championship from Bobo Brazil in Indianapolis, Indiana; Rip Oliver wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Brett Sawyer in Portland May :* Silvano Sousa is recognized as the first holder of the Vancouver version of the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (he was claimed to have beaten Angelo Mosca for the title) :*3 - Jimmy Garvin wins the NWA Florida title from Mr. Wrestling II in West Palm Beach, Florida :*10 - Jack Brisco wins the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship from Roddy Piper in Greenville, North Carolina :*21 - Wahoo McDaniel wins the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship from Sgt. Slaughter in Richmond, Virginia :*25 - The original Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) wins the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship from Les Thornton in Shizuoka, Japan :*26 - Tiger Mask wins the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship from Black Tiger in Osaka, Japan :*31 - Al Tomko wins the NWA Vancouver Canadian title from Silvano Sousa in Vancouver, British Columbia June :*7 - Sgt. Slaughter is awarded the NWA United States title in Greenville, South Carolina when Wahoo McDaniel is injured by Roddy Piper and Don Muraco :*14 - Fritz Von Erich wins the NWA American Heavyweight Championship from King Kong Bundy in Fritz's retirement match in Irving, Texas :*15 - The NWA American title is returned to King Kong Bundy following Fritz Von Erich's retirement :*20 - Paul Orndorff wins the NWA National title from Buzz Sawyer in Atlanta (Orndorff vacates the title later in the year to go into training for shots at NWA World Champion Ric Flair) :*21 - Junkyard Dog wins the Mid-South North American title from Bob Roop in New Orleans, Louisiana :*23 - Ted DiBiase wins the Mid-South North American title from Junkyard Dog in Shreveport :*26 - Bret Hart wins the Stampede North American title from Leo Burke in Edmonton, Alberta July :* Rip Oliver wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rocky Johnson (at some point after Johnson's July 15 title win) :*2 - The Fabulous Freebirds win the NWA National Tag Team Championship from Super Destroyer and Big John Studd in Chattanooga, Tennessee :*7 - Roddy Piper regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Jack Brisco in Charlotte, North Carolina (aired on tape delay on World Wide Wrestling) :*11 - Brian Blair wins the NWA Florida title from Jimmy Garvin in Orlando :*15 - Rocky Johnson wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rip Oliver :*16 - Derek Draper wins the NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship from David Von Erich in Lakeland, Florida :*25 Sweet Brown Sugar wins the NWA Florida Southern title from Derek Draper in Orlando August :*3 - Jack Brisco regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Roddy Piper in Raleigh, North Carolina :*11 - Jimmy Garvin wins the NWA Florida Southern title from Sweet Brown Sugar :*23 - The NWA Florida title, last held by Brian Blair, is declared vacant following a match against Bruiser Brody in West Palm Beach; Dean Ho and Moondog Moretti defeat Bruiser Costa and Butcher Hughes (subbing for Terry Adonis) to win the NWA Vancouver International Tag Team title in Vancouver :*25 - Brett Sawyer wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rip Oliver in Coos Bay, Oregon :*28 - Rip Oliver regains the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Brett Sawyer in Portland :*29 - Super Destroyer wins the vacant NWA National title in a tournament final over Paul Orndorff in Atlanta September :*Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle are awarded the vacant NWA World Tag Team title, last held by Ole Anderson and Stan Hansen; they supposedly beat Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki in a fictitious match for the vacant belts in Tokyo :*1 - Paul Jones wins the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Jack Brisco in Charlotte (aired on tape delay on World Wide Wrestling) :*3 - Bad News Allen wins the Stampede North American title from Bret Hart in Calgary :*17 - Harley Race wins the NWA Missouri title from Dick the Bruiser in St. Louis :*20 - Mr. Pro wins the NWA Vancouver Canadian title from Al Tomko in Vancouver :*22 - Brett Sawyer wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rip Oliver in Salem, Oregon October :*6 - Kevin Sullivan wins the vacant NWA Florida title in a tournament final over Barry Windham in Tampa, Florida :*17 - Bret Hart regains the Stampede North American title from Bad News Allen in Calgary :*18 - Jack Brisco regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Paul Jones in Greenville, South Carolina :*31 - Dusty Rhodes wins the NWA Florida Southern title from Jimmy Garvin in Orlando November :*2 - Paul Jones regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Jack Brisco in Raleigh :*15 - Moose Morowski wins the NWA Vancouver Canadian title from Mr. Pro in Vancouver :*22 - Kevin Sullivan defeats Barry Windham (subbing for champion Dusty Rhodes) to win the NWA Florida Southern title in West Palm Beach (Sullivan is later stripped of the title for trying to give the belt to Jake Roberts as payment for Roberts' interference in that match) :*25 - Stagger Lee (Junkyard Dog wearing a mask) regains the Mid-South North American title from Ted DiBiase in New Orleans :*30 - Jack Brisco regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Paul Jones in Columbia, South Carolina December :*7 - Sheik Abdullah Ali Hassan wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Brett Sawyer in Portland :*18 - Barry Windham defeats Greg Valentine in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA Florida Southern title in Sarasota, Florida See also Category:Wrestling Years